


The Two of Us

by Drowninginworkbutstill



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: College AU, Finals Hell, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Oneshot, Slice of Life, Studying, off the court zine, soft fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2020-10-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 07:01:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27149782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Drowninginworkbutstill/pseuds/Drowninginworkbutstill
Summary: College was difficult. But, he could survive this if they were together. Like always.
Relationships: Tsukishima Kei & Yamaguchi Tadashi, Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 6
Kudos: 66
Collections: Off The Court zine fics, sugamint's zine fics





	The Two of Us

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Off the Court zine. Thank you Red and Noel for beta-ing <3

“Tsukki, can you lend me your yellow highlighter? Mine ran out of ink.”

Tsukishima hummed in acknowledgment. He dug through his triceratops pencil case and handed the highlighter he found to Yamaguchi.

“Thanks, Tsukki!” Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were studying together in their dorm. Both of them were taking the Developmental Psychology class together. Yamaguchi had recommended it to Tsukishima, who caved and took the module. 

Tsukishima Kei was a law major while Yamaguchi was a psychology major who had an interest in helping children with special needs. They made a promise to take another course together in the future semesters, one that Tsukishima was highly interested in. Criminal psychology. 

It was a lot easier to survive a college course with a friend than alone. With an assigned three readings a week on average, each additional module added up to be a hell of a lot of words. Making notes weekly meant that studying during finals would be a lot easier. 

Yamaguchi hummed under his breath as he bobbed his head to the music from his earphones. He highlighted important keywords as he studied. Tsukishima repeated crucial information under his breath as he went through his notes and drew mindmaps. They had different learning styles, but their arrangement worked out well. Due to his need to verbalize information, Tsukishima found it hard to find a place to study.

Having a roommate who didn’t mind his habit was helpful. 

The two of them had requested to be in a room together. It was better than having to tiptoe around a complete stranger who might not mesh well with them in lifestyle choices or habits. 

Of course, that wasn’t all. 

Tsukishima Kei’s embarrassing secret was part of the reason why he preferred to have Yamaguchi as a roommate. That reason was currently held between Tsukishima’s arms as a headrest. The tyrannosaurus plushie had its entire head dented from the weight of Tsukishima’s head. 

It—no, _his_ name was Keita. 

He was the first birthday present Yamaguchi gave to Tsukishima in sixth grade. Tsukishima found it hard to fall asleep without him. The habit of cuddling something to fall asleep was hard to break once it had taken root. He had tried various times to grow out of it and gave up after many long and sleepless nights. There was no reason for him to torture himself needlessly. 

Still, he was afraid of other people teasing him if they found out about this habit of his. Other than his family members, only Yamaguchi Tadashi knew about it. They had sworn a death pact of secrecy about it when they were in middle school. 

Even without that pact of secrecy, Tsukishima knew Yamaguchi wasn’t the type to spill secrets or tease him over something like this. He supposed that was what having a best friend meant—having complete and unyielding trust towards the other. 

The thought of their childhood brought a wry smile to Tsukishima’s face. 

He remembered how Yamaguchi had tried to stay up with him during those nights of summer camps where he had been unable to fall asleep. They would chat in soft whispers as they laid side by side, staring up at the ceiling. 

_I’ll stay up with you if you can’t sleep, Tsukki!_ He said those words even as he kept yawning. 

Yamaguchi had even given up his own pillow so Tsukishima had something to hug to fall asleep. The freckled boy had laughed and assured Tsukishima that he was fine without one due to his talent of being able to sleep anywhere at any time. 

Indeed, Yamaguchi had fallen asleep within minutes. Looking at the sight of his friend sleeping so uncomfortably had made him feel both sorry and thankful. Then again, he had always woken up without protest whenever Yamaguchi was too afraid to go to the toilet alone. His friend had always been such a scaredy-cat. 

Tsukishima glanced at his best friend to make sure he was properly studying.

Yamaguchi was chewing on the tip of his pen as he crammed a semester’s worth of materials into his head. Yamaguchi, too, had his own habits that he never managed to break. He used to chew on other things. His fingernails had looked terrible. Tsukishima had researched online and got Yamaguchi chewable pen caps for one of his birthdays. 

Perhaps reading about developmental psychology was making him sentimental. He had hit so many of his life’s milestones with Yamaguchi by his side. He had no doubt Yamaguchi would be there with him in the future as well. 

Yamaguchi noticed Tsukishima’s gaze. He looked up from his notes. 

“Tsukki?”

“ _Coffee_?” Tsukishima mouthed. 

A wide grin and an enthusiastic nod was his answer. 

Tsukishima grabbed his cardigan and wallet before heading out. Both of them were creatures of habit with quite the sweet tooth. There was no need to ask what Yamaguchi wanted because he always wanted the same thing—Caramel Macchiato with an extra pump of caramel—just like Tsukishima would be getting a Strawberry Frappuccino. Same as always. 

When Tsukishima came back with coffee, Yamaguchi was asleep, head pillowed on arms that were folded on the table. His black hair was mussed and messy from all the times he had ruffled it while stressed. He snored softly—he only snored when he was exhausted. Tsukishima quietly toed off his shoes and entered.

He placed the drinks on the table, looking at Yamaguchi. He was stuck in a conundrum. He knew Yamaguchi wanted all the time he could get to do some last-minute revising. However, wouldn’t a small break be good for him? 

Tsukishima settled on a compromise of letting Yamaguchi sleep for five more minutes. 

“Wake up Yamaguchi,” he raised his voice slightly, shaking his best friend. “Yamaguchi.”

Yamaguchi sat up with a start.

With a wide-eyed look, he turned to the clock on the wall. Half an hour had passed since Tsukishima left. He groaned loudly and grabbed his hair again. Tsukishima placed a hand on his shoulder, a quiet reminder for Yamaguchi to stop doing that. Their entire dorm room was covered with strands of Yamaguchi’s hair from his destructive quirk. He was going to be bald at this rate.

“Sorry Tsukki,” Yamaguchi whispered, dropping his hands. His dejected gaze fell to the stack of notes in front of him. Where did he last stop? He chewed on his lower lip as his unfocused gaze jumped across the page searchingly.

Seeing Yamaguchi start to panic, Tsukishima was quick to step in. He pushed Yamaguchi’s favorite drink towards him. The sensation of the cold beverage against his fingers seemed to break Yamaguchi out of it.

“Here. It’ll help you wake up.”

After years together, Tsukishima had learned to recognize the beginning of a stress-induced breakdown. With a worried expression, he watched Yamaguchi accept the Caramel Macchiato with trembling hands. The black-haired boy took a long sip, some slow breaths, then smiled at Tsukishima.

He was okay now. Tsukishima smiled back, relieved.

“Thanks, Tsukki. I need all the coffee I can get. I doubt I’ll be able to get much sleep at the rate I’m progressing,” Yamaguchi said with a resigned tone.

“It’ll be over tomorrow,” Tsukishima reminded him soothingly. They just had to push through for their last exam day and they would be able to sleep as much as they liked.  
  


* * *

  
  
_Beep beep_!

The alarm clock rang mercilessly at 7 am. Tsukishima groaned as he snoozed it. God, he hated morning papers. He could hear Yamaguchi shuffling around the room as he got ready. Soft light permeated through the thick curtains, casting the room in a faint and hazy glow. Tsukishima was glad Yamaguchi wasn’t the type of person who loved to fling open the curtains to welcome the harsh glare of a new day. He liked to take his time to wake up. Tsukishima hugged Keita tighter, burrowing deeper into the blanket. 

He dozed off again as he heard Yamaguchi brushing his teeth. 

Moments later, someone was gently shaking his shoulder.

“Tsukki, wake up. It’s 7:15.”

“Mm.”

He hummed in acknowledgment and sat up, yawning. His stiff joints popped loudly. He felt so old and weary. God, how many hours of sleep was that? Three hours? He wanted to go back to bed. He was going to crash so hard once they finished this exam. He felt blindly around the side of his bed for his glasses and put them on. 

“Your bedhead is crazy today, Tsukki,” Yamaguchi commented with a soft snicker. 

“Mm.”

The scent of coffee was helping him to wake up. He was always thankful for Yamaguchi, who was much more of a morning person than he was. He got off the bed, wearing the fuzzy bunny slippers that Yamaguchi bought for them. He laid Keita on the pillow, tucking the dinosaur in. The green plushie was smiling with gentle eyes. 

“Sleep well in my place, Keita.”

Yamaguchi giggled at Tsukishima’s actions. Tsukishima’s sleep-deprived antics never failed to crack him up. 

Once Tsukishima finally cleaned up, they sat at the low table to have breakfast together. They ate toast as Yamaguchi looked through their notes a final time. He flipped the pages with his free hand as he crammed in as much information as he could. 

Soon, Tsukishima’s phone rang again, signaling that it was time to head out. Yamaguchi cursed under his breath, packing his bag in a rush as Tsukishima put the plates away. Yamaguchi continued to consult the notes even as Tsukishima locked the door. 

“Ummm what was the first psychosocial crisis in Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development again?”

Tsukishima blinked sleepily. He scrunched up his nose in thought. 

“...Trust versus mistrust. Infants develop a sense of trust if their needs are dependably met.”

“Thanks, Tsukki.”

Tsukishima walked in front of Yamaguchi as they headed for the examination halls. The freckled boy was still doing last-minute cramming to refresh his memory, and having Tsukishima with him meant he could concentrate better on reading as Tsukishima led the way. They walked at a casual pace so that Yamaguchi could read.

“Wait,” Tsukishima whispered. He stopped walking, and Yamaguchi paused as well. 

They stopped at an intersection. 

The red light turned green. 

“Okay, let’s go.”

Soon, they arrived at the examination hall. The outside of the auditorium was incredibly packed. Tsukishima couldn’t help but overhear a few conversations. 

_It’s going to be fucking hard._

_We’re gonna get slaughtered._

The nervous energy and soft murmurs always infected Yamaguchi, who was sensitive to his surroundings. Worried, Tsukishima looked at his friend, who seemed to be breathing in short, rapid inhales. Yamaguchi met his gaze and Tsukishima tried his best to look calm. If he seemed stressed as well, it would no doubt affect Yamaguchi. 

  
With a small voice, barely audible in the background noise of the students, Yamaguchi asked, “What if I don’t do well?”

It was a reasonable concern. Their professor was renowned for setting difficult questions. However, Tsukishima had seen first hand just how hard Yamaguchi had been studying for the past few days, taking the barest of breaks to eat and sleep. He did his best. Tsukishima felt proud of him for that. Yamaguchi was the most hardworking person he knew. 

“You tried your best to study, didn’t you?”

Yamaguchi bit his lip, nodding. The amount of trust in Yamaguchi’s eyes caused Tsukishima to cough slightly. He averted his eyes in his embarrassment and continued, “Then, it’ll be fine. Hard work will pay off. Well, even if you do badly, it’s not the end of the world. It’s one test, it won’t impact your GPA too much.”

“You’re right, Tsukki.”

Seeing Tsukishima’s composure helped Yamaguchi to stay realistic instead of pessimistic. He took a deep breath, held it for five seconds, and then breathed out slowly. Determination filled his eyes, and Tsukishima smiled at the sight of it.

He tapped Yamaguchi’s shoulder with a fist. “I’ll see you after the test. Good luck.”

Yamaguchi nodded. They looked for their seat number in the large and freezing auditorium, walking between the rows of tables like ants in a maze. 

_1112_

There it was. Tsukishima couldn’t help but smile because it was both his and Yamaguchi’s jersey numbers when they were first-years in Karasuno. What a strange coincidence. He could spot Yamaguchi in the row next to him, a few seats ahead. 

Yamaguchi looked back at Tsukishima as though he felt the gaze. The shorter boy traced a circle on the table with his finger. It was their secret sign for ‘Good luck’. Tsukishima did the same sign with his finger. Once he did, a huge grin bloomed on Yamaguchi’s face. With that short nonverbal interaction, they both gathered their focus as the clock ticked down. The invigilator stepped up to the mic, looking at his watch. 

**“You may begin.”**

Tsukishima flipped open the question booklet. The sound of flipping pages, soft coughs, and scribbling pens distracted him for a moment, but he tried his best to stay focused. The first question was what Yamaguchi asked him this morning. What good luck. He quickly wrote down his answer, hoping Yamaguchi remembered the answer.

His pen moved furiously as he answered questions under the time pressure. Since they had looked at past year papers and practiced old questions, the test wasn’t too difficult.

He finished with time to spare. He dropped his pen and closed his eyes. They ached from his intense concentration for the past two hours. He massaged his sore, aching hand. There was a red bump on his ring finger where the pen had been resting as he wrote. 

Tsukishima yawned as he checked over his work to make sure he didn’t make any careless errors. He smiled as he remembered something.

Years ago, Yamaguchi missed an entire page of the exam questions. He had cried hard after he found out, scolded by both his teachers and his parents. His friend had always been such a crybaby. That day, Tsukishima grabbed Yamaguchi’s hand and dragged him to a cafe, treating him to an entire mountain of french fries with his allowance. Sometimes when you made a mistake you blamed yourself for, no amount of reassuring words could make you feel better. The two boys had stuffed themselves full, and Yamaguchi had stopped crying after stress-eating. 

Maybe they could get a treat again after this.

**“You have 15 minutes left.”**

In front of him, he could see Yamaguchi chewing on his pen cap whenever he stopped to think. It was one of the little dinosaur pen caps that Tsukishima had gifted him. He hoped Yamaguchi would be able to finish the paper in time.

**“Please put down your pens.”**

Once that announcement was given, Yamaguchi sank down in his seat like a lifeless sack of rice, all the tension leaving his shoulders. Tsukishima resisted a snort, hiding his mouth behind his hand. He handed his exam paper to the invigilator, who collected them as they walked down the rows of students.

**“You may now leave the examination hall. Please make sure you do not leave any of your belongings behind.”**

  
Chairs screeched loudly as all the students stood up. Loud complaints about the exam difficulty could be heard as everyone filtered out of the exam hall slowly like sheep. 

It was hard to locate Yamaguchi. However, Yamaguchi spotted him easily and rushed over— that’s how it usually was due to their height difference. Based on Yamaguchi’s small smile, he did alright. Tsukishima reached over to ruffle his hair and he grinned from the action. His friend had sure worked hard the past few weeks.

“How was it?” Yamaguchi asked with a knowing smile.

“It was okay.”

“You say that, but I bet you’re going to get another A+ again,” Yamaguchi laughed.

Tsukishima didn’t deny that statement. Instead, he covered his mouth and yawned. Blinking drowsily, he said, “Let’s go eat something to celebrate.”

“Aren’t you sleepy?”

“It’s fine, it was our last paper.” 

They trudged in slow steps, dragging their feet. They walked under the shade of the trees as much as they could under the glaring sun. The bright rays hurt their sleep-deprived eyes.

They went to their favorite cafe. Yamaguchi got soft and soggy fries covered in salt and a glass of coke, while Tsukishima got a strawberry shortcake and a strawberry milkshake. It was what they always ordered when they came here, their favorite comfort food cafe. 

“Want one, Tsukki?”

Tsukishima opened his mouth and allowed Yamaguchi to feed him one. They sat around in a haze, reeling from the intense cramming of the past few days. It was all over, but it hadn’t quite sunk in yet. They let the soft pop music of the cafe wash over them as they relaxed in a moment of respite they’d been craving for weeks. 

Tsukishima knew the group singing the song. It was AKB48, Yamaguchi’s favorite pop idol group. Yamaguchi had begged him to go to their concert with him in the first year. He’d agreed to go, but only because Yamaguchi always went with him to exhibitions about the Mesozoic era. 

“I’m not looking forward to next semester,” Yamaguchi said with a weary laugh. 

He had deep eyebags that were so dark they looked like bruises. Tsukishima had no doubt that he looked the same. He felt terrible and he was a little nauseous from the lack of sleep. College was difficult. It was so much harder than high school. 

“Enjoy your momentary freedom while it lasts,” Tsukishima sighed, taking another sweet bite of his dessert. His brain rejoiced from the sugar it so desperately needed. 

Yamaguchi hummed, resting his heavy head on a palm. He looked ready to doze off, eyelashes fluttering closed. The freckles on his skin were lighter than they were in their first year. Maybe they faded along with their passion for volleyball. 

Karasuno had been so close to winning the championships in their final year of high school. Now, it all seemed so far away, like a distant dream. It was a colorful period of their youth, where they shed blood, sweat, and even tears. Even so, it had been a beautiful and fun time that they often reminisced about in their conversations. 

In their first year of college, Yamaguchi had had difficulty adjusting. Tsukishima had watched his best friend dye his hair for the first time. Yamaguchi wore makeup to conceal his freckles. He changed his entire wardrobe and laughed awkwardly in group project discussions. He seemed to have wanted a college debut, going to loud clubs that Tsukishima had to go and pick him up from.. He got into a friend group that copied his notes and took credit for his hard work during group projects. 

They had a very, very long talk one night about everything. 

_Your freckles look like constellations in the night sky. What’s wrong with them? Anyone who finds an issue with it isn’t worthy of being your friend._

_Don’t let anyone treat you like that, Yamaguchi._

Now, Yamaguchi was comfortable in his own skin on most days. He kept a small, close group of friends instead of forcing himself beyond his social comfort. Tsukishima could still remember how hard Yamaguchi cried that night. 

He never wanted to see that again. 

Yamaguchi’s voice broke Tsukishima out of his memories. 

“I miss high school. I wonder how Hinata and Kageyama are doing.” 

“Those idiots? Probably suffering harder than we are,” Tsukishima snickered. 

Yamaguchi gave a small laugh as well, recalling those days where they studied hard together as first years. Kageyama and Hinata had been so close to failing their first-year finals and being held back. 

_“Tsukishima! Please teach us! We’re going to get held back at this rate!”_

_“Isn’t that great? You’ll get another year to play volleyball.”_

_“...You got a point there.”_

_“Tsukki! They might actually get held back on purpose!”_

_“You guys would have to call me_ **_Tsukishima-senpai,_ ** _though.”_

The disgusted faces those two had made. Tsukishima wished he’d had a camera to immortalize the moment. He placed it in the top ten rankings of ugly faces the dumb duo had made. 

It felt a little strange, thinking about it. They started off with just the two of them. Meeting in elementary school, studying together in middle school… their world expanded in high school, and before they knew it, they were a group of five studying together. Yachi, Hinata, Kageyama, Yamaguchi, and Tsukishima had studied hard together for three years in libraries, in each other's homes, in the clubrooms, and even between breaks during volleyball practice near exams. 

Now, it was the two of them again. 

However, Tsukishima wasn’t lonely. He did miss the loud bickering at times, but the monthly video calls they made bridged that gap. He had always been an introvert, anyway, enjoying the peace and quiet. Yamaguchi was great in that aspect, assimilating in his world without being intrusive. 

There was comfort in their routine. Beneath it laid an unshakeable knowledge that no matter how the world around them changed, their friendship would never change. Tsukishima wasn’t afraid of anything as long as Yamaguchi was there with him. He had never been lonely ever since he met Yamaguchi. 

College was difficult. But, he could survive this if they were together. Like always. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Good luck to everyone struggling in college! You got this.


End file.
